


Her Without Water

by duckiesandlemons



Category: Free!
Genre: Gen, Personified schools, this is nothing but cute, written for the kink meme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-23
Updated: 2013-08-23
Packaged: 2017-12-24 09:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/938508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duckiesandlemons/pseuds/duckiesandlemons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because her without water is like a dry ocean—it’s not possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Without Water

**Author's Note:**

> Written for http://iwatobiswimclub.dreamwidth.org/893.html?thread=797821#cmt797821 where the requester asked for the schools personified. I couldn't pass it up.

He sees her standing behind the three boys who snuck into his pool, standing and looking pale and sick and it just irritates him to no end.  He clenches his fists and moves to approach but he’s stopped by yelling, of Rin stepping inside and yelling at the three in the pool.  It makes him back off because she looks up and gets this sad look in her eyes and—

It pisses him off, Rin no longer belonged to her he was in Samezuka now.  The Iwatobi Swim Club is long gone and she just has her school and her pool not his why is she even here?  There’s a race, he watches, watches as Rin leaves and that other kid—Nanase Haruka—congratulates him.  He watches the anger, the quiet shuffling of the rest as they leave, and he looks up to see if she’s still there.

She is and she still looks so, so ill.

“What are you doing here?” he asks and finally stalks over to her, frown on his face.  “You have your own school, why are you here?”

Because she favors Haruka, if he remembers correctly.

“Samezuka,” she acts genuinely surprised to see him.  “I didn’t know you were here!”  Up close, she’s paler than he once knew her.  That tan she held gone and her hair dull, no shine to it.  She looks more skin and bones over muscle and seeing her like that makes him regret his hostile greeting.

“Sorry,” he mumbles but she brushes him off.

“It’s fine, I was about to leave anyways,” she gives him that same smile she used to give him all those years ago but it seems forced.  It’s obvious she’s not feeling well and he thinks he knows why.

“Does your school even have a pool anymore?” because her without water is like a dry ocean—it’s not possible.  The look she gives him confirms it and he grabs her wrist.  “You should’ve said something, idiot!” he starts running towards the pool, her wrist in his hand, and this is really dumb.

Like, really, really dumb.

“Samezuka, what—“

“Just jump with me!”

And she does, leaps with him even though she has every right to tell him to stop, and there’s a loud splash.  Water fills his ears, surrounds him in a surging rush and he brings himself to surface, takes in a gasp of air, and he’s soaked but he’s grinning.  “Iwatobi!” he shouts, turning in the water to find her but she’s not surfacing.  His heart hammers in his chest, that initial exhilaration turning into fear, and he’s frantic now.  “Iwatobi, come on!” he’s looking for her and then there’s another splash, another loud gasp of air.

He finds her, looking up at the ceiling with eyes closed and a grin on her face, and she looks so much better compared to before.

“You shouldn’t do things without warning,” she chides him, gently, but she’s looking at him now with warm eyes and he flushes some, swims over to her and touches his forehead to hers.

“I just wanted you to feel better,” he mutters.  “We both can’t go on long without swimming.”

“You’re right.”

They stay like that for a while, treading water and staying close because he’s always known a life with her and a life without her just feels so empty.

“Hey, Samezuka?” her voice is soft and he gives a low noise of acknowledgement.  “Those boys, did you hear?  They’re thinking of starting a swim club.”

The sentences bring a lot more hope into his heart.


End file.
